A web page typically contains references, or hyperlinks, to other parts of the page, other web pages and/or other resources. In particular, portal sites, which are web sites that constitute a convenient starting point for users of the Internet, provide web pages which include large numbers of links to other web pages and/or sites. Typically, some of these links are links to resources associated with sponsors of the portal site, and the operators of the site may generate revenue when users select those links. It is important for a web page designer to have some indication of the usage of those links, that is, the number of referrals or ‘clickthroughs’ generated by links on the web page. This information is not only important for determining the revenue generated from sponsored links, but is also important for web page design, as the link usage indicates the effectiveness of various kinds of links and the overall design of the web page.
Currently, link usage is measured by analysing web server log files, with the result that a count of the number of clickthroughs may be determined for each link over the time period since the previous log file analysis was performed. Thus, for example, a portal site may provide a web designer with a usage count for a given link, and this may be used to determine the revenue owed to the portal site provider from the advertiser associated with the link. However, this method provides a limited amount of information to the site provider and/or web designer. It is desired, therefore, to provide an improved method and system for measuring and displaying link usage, or at least a useful alternative to existing methods and systems.